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    <title>NTFS Documentation: Glossary</title>
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      <h1><a href="index-2.html#NTFS" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/index.html#NTFS">NTFS</a> Documentation: Glossary</h1>

      <dl>
	<dt><a href="attribute.html" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/attribute.html">Attribute</a>
	  <p>

	<dt>Block
          <dd>In <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.linux.org/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.linux.org/'" tppabs="http://www.linux.org/">Linux</a> terminology, this is a <a href="#Cluster">cluster</a>.
          <p>

	<dt>Block device
          <dd>In <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.linux.org/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.linux.org/'" tppabs="http://www.linux.org/">Linux</a> terminology, this is a storage unit.
          <p>

	<dt><a name="Cluster">Cluster</a>
	  <dd>The minimum allocation unit. Clusters are a fixed power of 2 of the <a href="#Sector">sector</a> size (called the cluster factor), and their size can be between 512 bytes and 4 KB (Sometimes 64 KB, but 4 KB is the largest cluster size that the <a href="engine.html" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/engine.html">current NTFS compression engine</a> can operate with. That limit may be related to the 4 KB page size used on the Intel i386 CPU). This size can be set with the <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/'" tppabs="http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/">Windows NT&reg;</a> <code>format</code> utility, whose default is:
	  <p>

	  <table border=2 cellspacing=2 cellpadding=2>
	    <tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0">
	      <th><a href="#Volume">Volume</a> size</th>
              <th>Cluster size</th>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <th>1 to 512 MB</th>
              <th><a href="#Sector">Sector</a> size</th>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <th>512 MB to 1 GB</th>
              <th>1 KB</th>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <th>1 GB to 2 GB</th>
              <th>2 KB</th>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <th>more than 2 GB</th>
              <th>4 KB</th>
            </tr>
          </table>
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="dir.html" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/dir.html">Directory</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="File">File</a>
	  <dd>In the <a href="index-2.html#NTFS" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/index.html#NTFS">NTFS</a> terminology, a file can be a normal file, <a href="dir.html" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/dir.html">directory</a> (like in <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.linux.org/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.linux.org/'" tppabs="http://www.linux.org/">Linux</a>) or a <a href="MFT.html#system_file" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/MFT.html#system_file">system file</a>.
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="fileref.html" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/fileref.html">File reference</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="Filesystem">Filesystem</a>
	  <dd>The physical structure an operating system uses to store and organize files on a storage unit. A common filesystem is FAT (used by <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.caldera.com/dos/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.caldera.com/dos/'" tppabs="http://www.caldera.com/dos/">DOS&reg;</a>).
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="data.html#Fork" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/data.html#Fork">Fork</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="HFS">HFS</a>
	  <dd>The MacOS&reg; <a href="#Filesystem">filesystem</a>.
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="HPFS">HPFS</a>
	  <dd>The <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm'" tppabs="http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm">OS/2&reg;</a> <a href="#Filesystem">filesystem</a>. Remember: once upon a time, <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm'" tppabs="http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm">OS/2&reg;</a> had to be the operating system developped by both <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.ibm.com/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.ibm.com/'" tppabs="http://www.ibm.com/">IBM</a> and <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.microsoft.com/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.microsoft.com/'" tppabs="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a>. There was a break between the 2 giants. <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.ibm.com/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.ibm.com/'" tppabs="http://www.ibm.com/">IBM</a> continued to develop <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm'" tppabs="http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm">OS/2&reg;</a> (it became <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm'" tppabs="http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm">OS/2 Warp&reg;</a>), and that explains why <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm'" tppabs="http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/html3/index.htm">OS/2&reg;</a> knows how to execute Windows&reg; applications. <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.microsoft.com/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.microsoft.com/'" tppabs="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> decided to make its own operating system: <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/'" tppabs="http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/">Windows NT&reg;</a>. HPFS design influenced <a href="index-2.html#NTFS" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/index.html#NTFS">NTFS</a> design, so the 2 <a href="#Filesystem">filesystem</a>s share many features.
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="FILE.html#inode" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/FILE.html#inode">Inode</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="LCN">LCN</a>
	  <dd>An acronym which stands for Logical <a href="#Cluster">Cluster</a> Number. The LCN is a notion relative to a <a href="#Volume">volume</a>. LCNs are ordered from the first <a href="#Cluster">cluster</a> (LCN 0) of a <a href="#Volume">volume</a> to the last one.
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="Metadata">Metadata</a>
	  <dd>Data on the storage unit used by the <a href="#Filesystem">filesystem</a> only, as a frame to access user data. Metadata constitutes the structure of the <a href="#Filesystem">filesystem</a>). Metadata examples from various <a href="#Filesystem">filesystem</a>s include FATs, inode tables, free block lists, free block bitmaps, logging areas, and the superblock.
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="MFT.html" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/MFT.html">MFT</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="index-2.html#NTFS" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/index.html#NTFS">NTFS</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="Nibble">Nibble</a>
	  <dd>Half of a byte (4 bits).
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="POSIX">POSIX</a>
	  <dd>An acronym (expected to be pronounced <i>pahz-icks</i>, as in positive. It was suggested by Richard M. Stallman, you know, the guy who is everywhere:) for Portable Operating System Interface. It is a set of international standards (ISO/IEC 9945-1:1996(E), ANSI/IEEE Std 1003.1 1996 Edition) to interface with Unix&reg;-like exploitation systems, e.g. <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.linux.org/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.linux.org/'" tppabs="http://www.linux.org/">Linux</a>. <a href="index-2.html#NTFS" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/index.html#NTFS">NTFS</a> does not support Unix&reg-like device files. If 'devfs' ever gets written, <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.linux.org/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.linux.org/'" tppabs="http://www.linux.org/">Linux</a> will be able to use <a href="index-2.html#NTFS" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/index.html#NTFS">NTFS</a> as the root partition. Actually, one could <a href="attribute.html#creation" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/attribute.html#creation">introduce a new file attribute</a>, say POSIX_ATTRIBUTES, which would store large uid, gid, flags, and, in the case of character or block devices, large major and minor device numbers.
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="lfs.html#roll_back" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/lfs.html#roll_back">Roll-back</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="attribute.html#run" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/attribute.html#run">Run</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="Sector">Sector</a>
	  <dd>Unit of data on the physical storage unit. The storage controller can only access data in multiples of this unit. A sector is usually 512 bytes, but can be 1 KB on certain Asian hard disks.
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="attribute.html#stream" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/attribute.html#stream">Stream</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="Transaction">Transaction</a>
	  <dd>A transaction on a system is a set of operations (on that system) that constitutes a unit. This unit can't be divided.
              <br>
              Before the transaction, the state of the system is well defined. During the transaction, it is undefined. After the transaction, it is well defined again. A transaction can't be half-realized: if no operation fails, the transaction is realized. If on the contrary an error occurs in one or more of the operations, the transaction is not realized. A set of (even atomic) operations is not atomic by definition. A transaction is a model that provides a kind of atomicity to this set of operations.
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="Unicode">Unicode</a>
	  <dd>International character set coded on 16 bits (ASCII is coded on 7 bits and Latin-1 coded on 8 bits). Unicode can represent every symbol of almost every language in the world.
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="seqarray.html" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/seqarray.html">Update sequence</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a href="attribute.html#VCN" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/attribute.html#VCN">VCN</a>
	  <p>

	<dt><a name="Volume">Volume</a>
	  <dd>A logical <a href="index-2.html#NTFS" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/~regis/ntfs/new/index.html#NTFS">NTFS</a> partition. It is a group of physical partitions (see the <code>fdisk</code> utility, you can set up mirroring and stripping) that act as one (somewhat like the <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.linux.org/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.linux.org/'" tppabs="http://www.linux.org/">Linux</a> <code>md</code> block devices).
	  <p>

      </dl>

      <hr>
      <address><a href="mailto:regis@via.ecp.fr">Regis Duchesne</a> at <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.via.ecp.fr/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.via.ecp.fr/'" tppabs="http://www.via.ecp.fr/">VIA</a>, <a href="javascript:if(confirm('http://www.ecp.fr/  \n\nThis file was not retrieved by Teleport Pro, because it is addressed on a domain or path outside the boundaries set for its Starting Address.  \n\nDo you want to open it from the server?'))window.location='http://www.ecp.fr/'" tppabs="http://www.ecp.fr/">ECP</a>, France</address>
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